Pages

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Gokanna Viharaya in Trincomalee (Thirukoneswaram temple)

This post is yet again dealing with another important Buddhist temple but now turned into a Hindu Kovil in the Eastern part of Sri Lanka. Unlike in the previous example where some remains of the temple (Kadurugoda Vihara in Jaffna) is still visible, in this instance, however, the place has completely been turned in to Hindu Temple. This Temple is none other than the famous Thirukoneswarm temple in Trincomalee or the previous Gokanna Vihara.

According to the chronicles the Gokanna Vihara was built by the king Mahasen in 3rd century. De Queyroz, a Portuguese historian says that the Gokana Vihara was a Buddhist temple until it was destroyed by Portugeese in the 16th century. According to him the Pagoda or the Stupa of the temple was destroyed by Portuguese Trincomalee's ruler Costantino da Sa while Buddhist monks were still in residence there. Therefore, it is clear that the Gokkana Vihara was intact until it was destroyed by Portuguese in 16th century and was until then a famous Buddhist temple.

The present Thirukoneshwaram Hindu Temple has been built in 1956. Dr. Somapala Jayawardane says that one of his Tamil friends who accompanied him to the temple in 1980 had told that there hadn't been a Hindu temple before 1956 and Hindus used to worship a tree close to the sea.

As has always been the case with regard to the original Sinhalese names in NE in Sri Lanka it is clear that the name Gokkanna too has been Tamilinazed. The earliest name of the place was Gonagama Pattana or Gokkannathittha which became shortened as Gona. Subsequently it was known as Sirigonakanda. The name Trincomalee came to be known only in 10th century. After the word Gona was Tamilinized as Kona, it came to the Tamil usage as Thirukona meaning noble with adding the word Mallai (mountain in Tamil). With the combination of three words Thiru-kona-mallai or Thirukunamali came to be known.

A foundation of a shrine room constructed by King Aggrabodhi in 8th century was found when the excavations were done by Department of archeology inside the Trincomalee Fort Frederick. Among other ruins found included Buddha statues belonging to the 01st century. All ruins were found in the same place where the present Thirukineshwaram temple is located. The Bo-tree which was there in front of the Kovil also belonged to the Gokkanna Vihara.

An inscription written in Sanskcrit found inside the Trincomalee fort mentions that a person named Chodanga Deva came to Gokkanna on 14th Friday of April 1223. Here too the name Gokanna is found mentioned. Archeologists and historians believe that there had been Sinhalese civilization in Trincomalee from at least 5th BC as many Brahami inscriptions belonging to the pre Christian era and ruins of Buddhist temples numbering over 150 have been excavated from the area.

As mentioned earlier King Aggabodhi (718-724AD) had built a shrine room in the Gokkanna Vihara. Chronicles say that the king Parakkramabahu the Great (1153-1186 AD) had mobilized army from Sarogama Thittha to Gokkanna along the Maha Valuka Nadi (river Mahaveli). The king Parakrama Bahu-11(1236- 1272 AD) is also mentioned as having chased away Tamil invaders who had set up camps closer to Gona area. These all references found mentioned in the chronicles use the words Gokkanna, Gona or Gokannathittha. Mahavamsa says that Baddakachchana, the queen of Panduwasdeva reached this Gonagama Pattana or Gokkannathittha.

King Senasammta Vickramabahu's (1356-1375 AD) Gadaladeni Lipi says that Mahathota Thirukunamalya and Madakalapuwa (Batticaloa) were under the Sinhalese king. Subsequently the king Rajasinhe-11(1627-1679AD) chased away Portuguese from Thirukunamale with the support of Dutch. During the King Keerthi Sri Rajasinha's period (1747-1781 AD) a group of Buddhist monks from Cambodia led by Arhat Upali visited Gokkanna Vihara.

2 comments:

Anonymous
said...

The date of 1956 for the Thirukoneswaran temple can easily be disputed as there are photographs of the temple taken before Sri-Lanka even got independence. There are numerous British records of the temple during their rule of the island - this was all well before 1956.

Thirukonamalai is tamilized form of Gokarna (or Shri Gokarna, to be precise). The temple is called as Mahabaleshwar temple. It is a very old, revered, popular Shiva temple in the south western coast of India (current Karnata State of South India).

The Gokarna temple in Karnataka is associated with Ravana and Sri Lanka. As per mythology, Ravana wanted to save Sri Lanka from destruction and got a Shiva Linga from Lord Shiva. The Linga was in the name of Cow's ear (Go in sanskrit is Cow, Karna in sanskrit means 'ear'. Karna is pronounced as Kanna in Pali - For ex Lambakanna).

The legend says that the Linga which is to be installed in Sri Lanka got installed in Gokarna.

This Gokarna is very old and Srilankan Gokarna (or Gokanna or Thirigonamalai) seems to have been a replica of this temple.

The Thevaram songs of 7th Century AD (or one or two centuries older than that) mention the Indian Gokarna as well as Sri Lankan Gokarna.

Appar, a Saivite Saint from Tamil Nadu has sung in praise of Gokarna of Karnataka. Gnanasambandar, another Saivite Saint has sung in praise of Srilankan Gokarna (kONa mAmalai).

See this Devaram poem (if you know tamil). It mentions the sacred springs of the Srilankan Gokarna. It also mentions that the Veddahs worship Shiva there and get relieved of their illnesses. The line also, probably refers to the Brahmins who are good in Ayurveda. "காண் பலவேடர்,நோயிலும் பிணியும் தொழலர்பால் நீக்கி நுழைதரு நூலினர்---ஞாலம்கோயிலும் சுனையும் கடல்உடன் சூழ்ந்த கோணமாமலை அமர்ந்தாரே."

Subsequently this Gokarna could have become a buddhist place (Indian Gokarna is also associated with Buddhism, especially Tantric Buddhism).

Labels

Rebel of Kandy

rebel
a person who is opposed to the political system in their country and tries to change it using force, or a person who shows their disagreement with the ideas of people in authority or of society by behaving differently:
verb [I]
1 to fight against the government or to refuse to obey rules, etc:
2 to react against a feeling, action, plan, etc: